The State Department of Health has reported 190 new cases of COVID-19 in the state, bringing the state’s total to 19,424 total cases of COVID-19.
The Big Island added 15 cases. The island has lost 49 people to COVID-19. The State’s formal COVID-19 death toll is 274.
The new case count includes 158 on O’ahu. Many of those cases are part of a large cluster at Halawa Prison.
The island-by-island breakdown as provided by State Department of Health, reflecting numbers from Saturday, Dec. 13, 2020:
| Where | Total | New |
| State | 19,424 | 190 |
| Hawaii County | 1,733 | 15 |
| Oahu | 16,423 | 158 |
| Maui | 707 | 15 |
| Kaua’i | 134 | 0 |
| Out of state | 299 | 2 |
| Lanai | 106 | 0 |
| Molokai | 22 | 0 |
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has now arrived in the state, with the first shipment going to Queen’s Medical Center. Queen’s did a dry run about how to handle the vaccine around 10 days ago. For more about the state’s plans for vaccinations and about the COVID-19 vaccine, click here.
Local health officials are delighted that after safety and efficacy review of the Phase 3 clinical trial data, the Pfizer/BioNTech COIVD-19 was approved for Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA on Friday and by the CDC on Sunday. Pfizer/BioNTech have said the companies intend to apply for full approval, after providing additional safety and efficacy data based on use of the vaccine in the field, in around 6 months.
Because it will take months to have enough people in the state get vaccinated against COVID-19, everybody still needs to wear masks and practice distancing.
Photo provided by Queen’s Medical Center of the first vaccine shipment from Pfizer-BioNTech arriving at the facility.
